What Does a Wedding Celebrant Actually Do? …and is it worth having one?
Text image - What does a celebrant do and is it worth having one?
If you’ve started wedding planning and found yourself wondering, “What exactly does a wedding celebrant do and is it worth having one?” you’re definitely not alone.
As a wedding celebrant, it’s one of the questions I’m asked most often. And honestly? It’s a good question because celebrant-led weddings are still relatively new to many couples in the UK.
So let’s break it down.
First Things First: What is the difference in a celebrant and a registrar?
Registrars - who are they and can they do a legal marriage?
A registrar performs a legal wedding ceremony on behalf of the local authority, either at a licensed wedding venue or at the register office. There will be two of them, one to officiate and one to record the legal marriage. They will both be strangers to you on your wedding day and will usually be performing a number of ceremonies within their district that day, so you cannot be fashionably late, they will more than likely be on a clock to get to the next ceremony! The ceremony is read from a standard template with very little leeway for personalisation, the ceremony must be secular, meaning absolutely no religious elements, including songs. So if your aisle entrance or exit song contains religious references, they won’t be allowed!
Celebrants - who are they and can they do a legal marriage?
A celebrant performs a ceremony on behalf of you, they can officiate your ceremony at a licensed wedding venue or an unlicensed wedding venue, or anywhere else of your choice - your garden, farmers’ field, a pub, a football pitch, steam train, boat, cinema, beach, anywhere!
You will get to know your celebrant and they will write a completely bespoke ceremony that’s designed around you. That means when you use a celebrant no scripts, no templates, no restrictions on what you can include, and no being told you only have a certain number of minutes to tell your story. A celebrant-led ceremony is built entirely around your relationship, your personalities, your values and vibe, whatever matters most to you… and you can be fashionable late without fear that they will leave!
You can also have religious content, so you can have Alex Warrens’ - Ordinary, or Ruelle - I get to love you, as your aisle entrance or exit song.
Celebrants can‘t conduct legal marriages, yet! But watch this space, the government are going to consultation this year to move licensing from the venue to the officiant, which is great news for celebrants. In the meantime most couples will complete the two wedding in two parts and complete the legal registration in a 2+2 (statutory ceremony) with the registrars at the register office.
So, What Happens in a 2+2 Ceremony?
A question I hear more frequently now is about a 2+2 wedding (statutory ceremony)
A 2+2 is the legal minimum marriage ceremony in England and Wales and currently costs £62 (plus £45 each to give notice to marry)
It involves:
The couple
Two people to witness the signatures (you don’t have to provide them if you can’t choose two people)
Two registrars - one to officiate and one to record the legal marriage
It doesn’t need to involve:
Ring exchange
Vow exchange
The legal paperwork is completed with very little ceremony attached. A recent ceremony I witnessed for a couple was 3 minutes long and didn’t feel remotely wedding like! We weren’t allowed to take photos and there was no music allowed, but if the couple upgraded the ceremony for a few hundreds pounds they could have had music and photos… in the same room. They chose not to.
The Rise of the Two Part Wedding
Favoured by the celebs, many couples choose this option because it allows them to complete the legal requirements separately before having a fully personalised celebrant-led wedding ceremony with all their family and friends present.
Think of it as signing the paperwork is the first part and having your actual wedding ceremony is the second part.
Some couples get really hung up on having two wedding dates. Personally, I think we sometimes overthink this. The benefits usually far outweigh the concern! Think of it like this, when you are born that is your birthday, your birth is registered with the registrars within 42 days of being born, but you don’t class this date as a second birthday, or your official one!
You can do both on the same day either at your venue, with one after another (celebrants are fine with it, but the registrar do not like this!). Or at the register office, but wearing my former wedding manager hat, I wouldn’t recommend this due to logistics and hair/MUA timings. This gorgeous couple were down at the register office at 3pm doing the legal bit first and had a golden hour, lakeside, celebrant led twilight ceremony, same day 6pm, with yours truly. It was magnificent! But it was hard on the bridal party with the travel to and from the register office and a change of dress for the bride.
Personally I would recommend you get the legal paperwork out of the way, do it at the beginning of the week and then celebrate a wedding anniversary week.
For many modern couples the two part wedding offers the best of both worlds.
What are the Benefits of Having a Celebrant Led Ceremony Over a Registrar Led Ceremony?
Do not underestimate the freedom a celebrant led ceremony brings!
You choose your own ceremony time, no getting stuck with the rubbish time slot meaning you miss half the day, or hair and MUA are arriving at 5am!
You can marry anywhere, any location.
The ceremony is yours, it belongs only to you, it’s not a generic template.
You can have any music, even if it includes religion, or swear words.
Fun! Guest participation is allowed, they don’t have to sit quietly.
No strangers - so you relax, everyone around you relaxes too.
You get better photographs, you’re relaxed, the ceremony is longer, the photographer is allowed free rein to go anywhere.
You can be fashionably late.
Unrushed, your celebrant isn’t on a clock to get to the next job, they work for you, not the council.
Blend faiths, cultures, spirituality, old traditions and new.
Your energy stays high, from wedding morning to the last dance of the night.
So What Does a Celebrant Actually Do?
A lot more than just stand at the front.
You’ll have relaxed planning meetings where you get to know your celebrant and they will want to know everything!
How you met
Your funniest moments
The stories your friends always tell
What you like doing together
What you love about each other
Your proposal
Your family dynamics
The people who matter most
Your celebrant will then write your ceremony from scratch.
Every word.
Every story.
Every moment.
Nothing is copied and pasted.
No generic templates.
What Happens During the Ceremony?
The beauty of a celebrant wedding is that there are no rigid rules.
You can include:
Personal vows
Ring exchanges
Promises to one another
Family involvement
Readings or poems
Music - hire professional musician, or have a full wedding singalong
Old traditions - hand-fasting, ring warming, unity ceremony
New traditions - surprise ring bearers
Faiths
Spirituality
Cultural traditions
Pet participation - ring bearer or an inky paw on your ceremony certificate as a doggy witness
Involve your children - check out the third ring and family vows here
Or none of the above.
It’s your ceremony.
Why Couples Choose a Celebrant
The answer is surprisingly simple.
Freedom.
You can marry where you want.
Tell your story properly.
Include the people you love.
Laugh.
Cry.
Break tradition.
Start new traditions.
And create a ceremony that feels like you.
Because the ceremony isn’t just the bit before the drinks reception.
It’s the moment that your guests felt, they won’t remember the colour of the chair sashes, but they will remember how they felt during your celebrant led ceremony!
And that deserves to feel unforgettable.
Katie x
Founder & Editor, Celebrant Led
Former Wedding Manager | Wedding Celebrant | Wedding Industry Commentator